Let the Clearing Begin!

Half of our reasoning to put a fence up was to get rid of all the weedy trees that surrounded our lot.  Today, we saw a lot of said trees removed.

And it already looks incredible!  We are so happy with the decision to put a fence up, and we are so fortunate that we've had such a mild winter that we were able to start so early in the season!

Check out the latest and greatest by clicking on the photo below:

Fort Hendricks

Any guesses as to what these are!?

Ladies and Gentlemen, we would like to introduce to you our next home improvement project: we are installing a fence in our backyard!  And those wooden thingamabobs taking over our nook table are the fence post caps!

We are extremely excited to take on a mini project.  (I say "mini" not because it isn't grandiose in it's nature, but because it probably will only take the better part of a week, and then we will be done!)  Brian and I debated about putting a fence up last year, but it obviously wasn't at the forefront of either of our radars, so we just held off.

When a bunch of our huge trees were removed at the end of last year from the utility company, the fence subject popped back up, and this time it stayed in the foreground.  (I would just like to state for the record that we are not trying to seclude ourselves from our neighbors.  We are just trying to create a tranquil oasis in our backyard.)

We are both very excited for the new fence!  Our highered help (aka "fence masters") will be here to start on Tuesday!  Until then, check out our yard before the installation of our fence!

Spring Mix (Not Salad)

Last Fall I planted a few groups of purple and yellow crocuses.  They are our first bulbs to bloom this season, and they are so dainty and pretty!  There are bright yellows, light yellows, bright purples, and light purples, and together they make a perfect Spring mix!

I know they're hard to see but you'll have to trust
my "perfect Spring mix" judgement.

So dainty!

And so pretty!

Spring is coming!

Shiver Me Timbers!

I went to the pool today to get my swim on after work.  (I typically tell Brian that I have a swim meet... I can see him rolling his eyes and nodding his head just to give me my moment, and then we later laugh about it!)  As soon as I stepped out of the locker room and into the pool room I noticed that the air was much colder than it usually is.  (One thing that I love about this pool is that it is always so warm!)

That scared me a little bit.  (I am not a huge fan of being cold, and if the air was cold, that did not bode so well for the water.)

But I put my towel down, grabbed my cap, goggles, water bottle, kickboard, and buoy, like I always do, and headed to an open lane.  At this point, I usually set my stuff down and hop in, put my cap and goggles on, and get to swimmin'.  Today, however, I made the mistake of dipping my toe in.  (Mental note #1: NEVER DIP YOUR TOE IN!)

It was freezing...

I sat on the edge of the pool and put my legs in.  There was one other person swimming and he got out just as I arrived.  I mentioned that it seemed very cold and he reassured me that it started to feel good after you got to swimming.  For some reason, I didn't believe him.

I stood up and walked over to the steps to ease myself into the water.  (Mental Note #2: NEVER EASE YOURSELF INTO THE WATER!)  This didn't go well.  I stepped in until the water was nearly touching my knees and then I turned around and headed out and decided I was going back to the edge of the pool where I originally was.

The water was still freezing.  I didn't understand what was going on, but I know that my cold tolerance is a lot less than most people's. (I am always cold and that is not even a joke.)  So, I told myself not to be a chicken and just jump in.

It took me three tries to get into the water.  Finally, I gently fell in from the edge where I was sitting, tightly gripping the edge that I was just sitting on.

The shock of the cold took my breath away.  I wasn't sure I was going to be able to swim, but I reassured myself that I would get warmer once I started swimming.  At least, that's what my fellow master swimmer said.

I was shivering.  I had goosebumps.  My teeth were chattering.  I was trying to convince myself to duck underwater and start my laps to warm up, and it was still freezing.  IT WAS NOT GOING WELL!

After a good five minutes of tricking myself into thinking that the pool was not really that cold, I went underwater and pushed off the wall to start my lap.

I thought my heart stopped, and I thought I was going to freeze in the freestyle swim position I was attempting.  It felt like I was swimming through ice water, and as each lap passed, I did not get any warmer.  As a matter of fact, I think I got colder, and I half expected to feel ice cubes against my body as I moved my arms and kicked my legs through the water.

I swam three laps before I threw in the towel got out and wrapped myself up like a burrito in my towel.  I couldn't do it.  It was just too cold.

As I was recovering from self-induced hypothermia, another swimmer entered the pool room.  He noticed it was cold too and saw me shivering on the edge.  I made mention that the pool was too cold to swim in, for me, at least.  I saw him at the edge of the pool.  I saw him walk to the steps and take three steps in, just I had ten minutes earlier.  I saw him turn around and head back to the edge of the pool.  (I know this story all too well...He was doomed.)  He decided to more or less just jump in and take the initial shock and start his swim.  He threw in the towel too.  (I was glad the water was too cold for someone else.  This made me feel much less of a wimp.)

After I showered and headed out to leave, I stopped at the front desk to inquire about the temperature of the pool.  For if it was going to stay that way I was going to need to find another swimming hole. 

They told me the water heater was broken.

REALLY?!  YOU COULDN'T HAVE PUT A SIGN UP AT THE FRONT DESK?!  ON THE LOCKER ROOM DOOR?!  ON THE POOL DOOR?!  ANYWHERE?!  (Mental Note #3:  Inquire when something isn't as it should be to prevent time wasted and hypothermia...)

It turns out the water heater had been broken for a few days, but someone was scheduled to fix it.  (Gee, that's nice to know.)  I just laughed and told the front desk attendants my story and that I was happy that I wasn't the only one that couldn't tolerate the cold water!

Even though I didn't get my entire swim in, I left comforted knowing that I'm not a complete weakling!  And in a couple of days, the water will be back up to the warm 84 degrees Fahrenheit that it normally is, and I will be able to swim my heart out!

Monkey Business

Yesterday, before Brian and I left to meet Los Wickline's at Chuck-E-Cheese's, there were two bananas on our counter.

When we came home from our Chuck-E-Cheese adventure there were none.

There was a distinct banana smell up in our bedroom, and there was a banana peel with two banana peel rinds on our bed...  (Neither Brian nor I had been snacking on bananas in our bed pre-skeeball challege 2012.)

Apparently, Jack had decided he wanted a mid morning snack and he decided the two bananas on the counter would satisfy his desire...  He also decided that he is no longer a dog, but a monkey.

We moved the new bananas to a further point on our counter, hopefully far enough enough away from dog monkey noses.

He claims to be innocent, but we know better...

Where A Kid Can Be A Kid

This weekend has been jam packed with meeting up with friends and family!  Last night we headed to Cincy, as you know, to meet up with my old college roomie, Joanne, and her family.  This morning we met up with Patrick and Becky and their two sons, Noah and Brady, at Chuck E. Cheese.  Then, I headed to Brian's Dad's house for a baby shower for Tina who is due March 10th.  And last but not least, we introduced Mary and Tom to their first Indian dinner at Aab India - an amazing Indian restaurant in Grandview and topped the night off with a stop at Jeni's Ice Cream!

It has been awesome to get together with so many wonderful people in such a short amount of time!



What an amazing day!!!

Road Trip!

My friend Joanne called me and told me that she and her family were going to be in Louisville, KY for the National Farm Machinery show this past week into this weekend and thought that we could all meet up for dinner somewhere.  Louisville is about four hours from Columbus, OH, but Cincinnati, OH is only two hours from Louisville and Columbus, so we decided to both make the trek up and down to meet in Cincy for dinner tonight!

Joanne and I met in college.  We lived together for 2 years.  She studied crop science while I was in horticulture.  The last time I saw her was in August of 2006!  She and her husband had just had their first baby, Bruce.  They have since had two more - Savannah and Colton.  Joanne and her husband, Bruce, live on a farm in Virginia and raise tobacco.  She was recently named farm woman of the year, and it was so wonderful to catch up and have the opportunity to introduce Brian to her and her family and meet their two [semi] new additions!

Joanne and Bruce with their first, Bruce. August '06.

Joanne and I with her second, Savannah. February '12.

We definitely have to do it again soon! We're not waiting six more years this time!

All That and a Bag of Chips

Remember last year's Valentine's Day?!  I sweet talked Brian into making homemade Valentine's Day cards instead of getting store bought ones?!  (I'm no miracle worker but that was no easy feat, people.)

This is how they turned out:

Our first married Valentine's - 2011!

I also mentioned that we may have to make making homemade Valentine's a tradition. And that we did!  (But not without a bit more convincing!)  This is one of my favorite traditions so far!

Once again, I brought a few crafty things downstairs and we got to work on Valentine's Day Eve!  Our artistic skills took us in different directions but both of our Valentine's mean more to each other than any other one could, and that is all that matters.

Yes, my card says, "You make my heart flutter."
It's Valentine's Day - the more corn, the better!

Brian is a great sport!  (Plus, it is a tad funny to see him fiddle with red, pink and white colored paper and hearts and ribbons galore all while watching a basketball game, of course!)  He made my valentine's day very special with a lovely bouquet of flowers and some sweets from the bakery...oh, and dinner out AND a date to the movies.  I am one lucky girl, and I can definitely say that he is all that and a bag of chips!

All that!

(Side note: Speaking of chips, am I the only one that still puts chips on her sandwhich at lunch time?!  It was brought to my attention today that this so called chip maneuver is not a common thing.  That chip crunch is vital to enjoying my sammie.  And even if is isn't the most "adult" approach, I will still continue to live out the eight year old inside of me by doing it!  So there.)

The Boys Club Part II

Speaking of Brian's amazing friends (see The Boys Club part I), we had the fine opportunity to see Than and Darcy twice while they were in town with their newborn son!  On November 29th, 2011, Than and Darcy welcomed, Jack Christopher, their first son, and he is absolutely adorable!

The whole family is just adorable!


We were lucky enough to have the Duffy's (Chris, Christa, and Leah) over for some beer and pizza to meet the little guy as well, and to catch up with what's been going on with everyone!  It's funny to think that just two years ago our get togethers would last well into the wee hours of the morn.  Now, everyone leaves before 9 pm!  I wonder how long it will be before our curfews are extended again?!

The Boys Club Part II!

The Girls (and one boy) Club!

Leah wriggles, but I've got a good grip!

The My Name is Jack Club!

Congratulations, Than, Darcy, Ally-Girl, and Jack!  We are also so happy for you!

Superbowl XLVI

He came.

They saw.

They conquered.

Veni.  Vidi.  Vici.  Superbowl XLVI in Indianapolis, IN where the New York Giants triumphed over the New England Patriots with a 21-17 win will forever go down in Brian and Matt's history!

The Civie 2.0

So, Brian and I went car shopping.  We test drove the following cars in chronological order:

2009 Mazda CX-7
2009 Ford Edge
2007 VW Passat (We actually didn't even test drive this. We sat in it and immediately changed our minds.)
2012 Nissan Rogue
2012 Honda Accord EX
2012 Honda Accord LX

If you've not noticed, I am a firm believer in Honda.  After all, my first Honda technically lasted for nearly half of my life.  (Half of my life up to this point, at least!)  Anyway, we were pretty set on getting a bigger car this go round.  With kids and car seats and more room (hopefully) needed in the future, and with the amount of time that I tend to keep my cars, we figured we might as well plan ahead.  That was before.

When we test drove the above cars, we were not impressed.  Well, I suppose I wasn't.  And I was kind of wondering if we made the right decision to sell my car.  None of the cars we test drove fit like my Honda did, and I missed it.

After we test drove the Honda Accord LX, which would have sufficed, I saw this supped up, gorgeous, black Honda Civic EX-L in the show room.  (That's how they getcha!  Put a high end, perfectly clean car in the area where everyone waits!)  We decided to "try" it just to "see" what it was like...

...I fell in love, again!

It was an amazing car!  Better than any of the others that we test drove, even Brian agreed!  Plus, we had an amazing buying experience!

SO, we've simply upgraded to a new Honda Civic.  However, this time we did get four doors instead of two to make our lives easier.  People drive much smaller cars in Europe with families, pets, etc.  I have no doubt that we can do it here too, and I know that this Civic is great purchase for us for whatever our future may hold!



Click on the photo for our car buying adventure!


(A FUNNY NOTE:  We had just left the Honda dealership to test drive the Honda Accord EX when we saw flashing blue and red police lights behind us.  I ran through the last 20 seconds to recall what I may have done illegally.  I couldn't think of a thing.  I had just done everything by the book.  When we pulled over, the cop explained that he pulled us over because he couldn't see the license place AT ALL!  (He made sure to let us know that this was no joking matter.)  When we apologized and explained that we were just test driving, he smiled, took my license, and told us that it was the dealerships fault.  He even said, 'Well, good luck.  This is a nice car!'  Brian and I were both cracking up!